


Everything I learned from You

by VampireBadger



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: And then regular canon timeline, But eventually the other paladins show up too, Canon Timeline, Pidge and Keith centric at the beginning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-13
Updated: 2018-08-13
Packaged: 2019-06-26 17:55:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15668286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VampireBadger/pseuds/VampireBadger
Summary: Katie Holt, computer prodigy and middle school social outcast, is looking for something to keep her busy now that her brother has been accepted to the Galaxy Garrison. Krolia, raising her son on Earth after the death of her mate, is looking for a friend for him to help him fit in better. Keith Kogane, Garrison Cadet and half-galra hybrid, just wants to get through another year at the Garrison without anyone finding out what he is.When Katie stumbles onto Krolia just outside of town one Friday night, none of them has any idea how much it's going to change their lives.And when the Kerberos mission goes missing on the edge of the solar system, when it seems like no one else is willing or able to do anything about it, none of them has any idea how much their chance meeting is going to change the entire universe.A/N: Story will not be finished





	Everything I learned from You

There isn't much to do in the small town surrounding the Galaxy Garrison.

Katie Holt has lived there her entire life, all thirteen years of it, and she knows _exactly_ how little there is to do. The whole town is just devoted to the Garrison, supplying the Garrison and running the Garrison and keeping the space academy _functioning_ , basically. And around that? Absolutely nothing but desert.

The town gets even smaller when Katie's brother leaves home to attend the Garrison himself. Matt had made her world bigger. He's four years older and for as long as she can remember, Katie has always sort of believed that her big brother knows _everything_. He'd taught her to use computers, then how to program computers, then how to _hack_ computers. He plays video games with her, climbs out to the roof at night and shows her constellations, introduces her to all the best movies.

And then, when Katie is thirteen, he goes away. He follows their dad into the Garrison, and Katie is left alone, without her partner in crime. It only takes her about a week after Matt leaves to get bored.

She _does_ manage to hold out another two full weeks after that before she goes off wandering through town and sometimes even out to the desert, looking for absolutely anything that will keep her busy while Matt's gone.

It's not something Katie has ever done before, although she knows that some of the other kids at school like to go out on the weekends and dare each other to see how far they can get away from town. It's stupid and dangerous because after all it is a desert, and someone's going to get really hurt if they don't stop, but Katie isn't going to just go wandering around aimlessly. She's smarter than that.

There's a hiking trail at the South end of town that wanders through the desert for a little bit before climbing up a shallow incline to a cliff that's _perfect_ for stargazing. It's kind of a trek, and the trailhead is sort of out of the way in a slow part of town, so as far as Katie's aware, no one else even knows about the place.

So out she goes, one Friday evening when the weather is nice and the stars promise to be bright. Normally, Katie hates being outside, she hates nature, she hates hiking, but she's been up here before with Matt and her dad—in a town that's pretty much obsessed with space, it's a place that seems like it only belongs to the Holts and the stars, and the day that Katie hauls herself out there, alone, she's hoping it'll feel a little bit more like her dad and Matt are back with her.

Instead, they feel farther away than ever.

Katie cries, all alone up there on the cliff. It's not like they're _gone_ , they're not stuck on another planet or something. They're just at the Garrison, where they get… phone calls. And text messages. Which is… great. Sure. But the Garrison is military, and they have rigid rules about the types of communication that come in or out. It doesn't matter that technically it's only a twenty minute walk from Pidge's front door to the Garrison's heavily fortified gates. She knows she's not going to be allowed to see her brother or her dad for months.

When Katie's done crying, it's starting to get dark out. She dries her eyes, and starts to pull out her telescope. She'd come out here to stargaze, not to cry, and that's exactly what she's going to do. Even if it does feel a little bit empty, doing it all alone. At least it's a clear, beautiful night, and the stars seem so close she can almost reach out and touch them. Katie is still working on getting the telescope focused when she hears footsteps.

She turns, almost knocking her telescope over, then screams and covers her mouth when she sees the woman standing behind her in the fading evening light.

"I know, I know." She looks totally unconcerned by Katie's reaction, walking over and putting a hand on the telescope to steady it. "I'm an alien."

"You're an _alien_?" Katie blurts. "Oh my _god_ , I was just going to say you were purple." But now that she's closer, she can see that it's not just the woman's skin that's different. The marks on her face don't just look like tattoos, and her ears are too long and pointy to be anything like human. And there's something about her height, the shape of her face, that makes her look definitely… not human.

Katie lowers her hands from her mouth, curiosity fighting with fear and _winning_. "What are you doing here?" she asks.

"I came to meet someone," the alien says. "It's very private up here, and I don't like to be seen."

"No I meant on _Earth_ ," Katie says. "What are you doing on Earth, why is there an alien on _Earth_?" She gasps and actually feels her eyes going wide. "Are there more aliens on Earth? Or is it just you? Oh my god Matt's going to _freak_ when he hears about—"

"No." The alien turns to look at her, and there's an intensity there that makes Katie freeze in place. "You're not going to tell _anyone_ about me."

"Is that because—" She's an alien on Earth who doesn't like to be seen and Katie's _seen_ her now. "Are you going to kill me?"

The alien gives her a long, considering look, and in that moment Katie is convinced she's going to say yes. When she finally opens her mouth, though, she says, "My name is Krolia."

"I'm…" At the last second, she can't make herself tell this alien that might be about to kill her what her real name is. "Pidge," she blurts instead. The nickname her brother gave her when they were kids is the first thing to pop into her head, and… it's not like it sounds any stranger than _Krolia_.

"I am not going to kill you, Pidge," Krolia says. Her voice is no nonsense, but almost soft. "We just happened to be here at the same time, and in a few minutes we'll both go our separate ways and never see each other again. But I need you to promise you're not going to tell anyone."

And Katie is too stunned to do anything but nod.

"Good," Krolia says. She starts to gather Katie's things, helping her to pack up the telescope. "And honestly, it's probably better if you forget all about this."

"Right," Katie says softly.

"Good." The telescope folds down into a little bag that fits over Katie's shoulder, and Krolia hands this to her now before starting to guide her away. "So—"

Wait, wait, wait. _No._ Katie pinwheels wildly, trying to stop herself from being dragged away. She's fully aware that she must look ridiculous, but _no no no no no_ she's not going to let herself lose the chance to learn all about this _alien_ she's just stumbled onto. Even if she can't ever tell anyone about it, she still wants to learn everything she possibly can. "Wait," she says. "Wait!"

"What?" Krolia asks, and to Katie's surprise, she actually does stop. "What's wrong?"

"I won't tell anyone," Katie says. "But I can't just walk away from this. I need to… I just need to know."

Krolia, for the first time, looks surprised—surprised, and a little off balance. "Why?" she asks. "For what purpose?"

"I don't have one," Katie says. "I mean it, I'm just…" She shrugs. "Curious." She's always needed to know everything she possibly can, she devours books and classes, she teaches herself what she can't learn from anyone else. And anyway, there's something exciting about being the only one in a town full of Garrison space nuts to know about the alien living practically next door.

And Krolia, after a long pause, says, "Okay."

And Katie lets out a huge breath that she hadn't even realized she'd been holding, and absolutely beams up at Krolia. "Thank you," she says. " _Thank you_."

Krolia gives her a half smile in return. "There's a house," she says. "About a mile out into the desert." She points, straight out away from town, into the empty wasteland of desert where no one ever goes. Even the kids from school that dare each other to wander out into the desert don't go out that way—they stick to the edges, close to town, or at least following the lines of the cliffs so they won't get lost. "From here, it's…" She taps at some sort of screen on her forearm, and Katie watches Krolia examine it critically. "North thirty degrees, ten minutes East." She raises her eyebrows, almost like a challenge. "Do you think you can manage to get there?"

A mile through the desert, trusting the word of a strange purple alien she's just stumbled onto? Katie grins—just an hour ago, she'd been wondering how she'd ever find anything to do with Matt locked away in the Garrison. "Yea," she says. "I think I can manage."

"Then I'll see you soon."

Katie is so caught up in the excitement of it all—she's so giddy that she almost forgets to ask. "Why?" she blurts out, turning around and calling back to look at Krolia. "Why are you just… inviting me back to where you live?"

"I have my reasons," Krolia says. "And they're good enough for me."

It's not a good enough answer, but Katie doesn't push. She's too scared of making Krolia change her mind, and anyway. "Okay," she says. "I'll see you in—"

"A week," Krolia says. "Come back in a week."

And Katie absolutely knows she will.

-//-

Krolia sits with her legs hanging over the edge of the cliff, waiting. By the time she hears footsteps behind her—familiar ones, this time—she's already decided what she's going to say.

"Keith," she says, without turning around. "I've found a friend for you."

The footsteps pause briefly before heading toward her again, and then Keith sits down next to her. He looks confused. "What?"

"Yes," Krolia says. "When I got here today, there was someone already here. I thought for a minute it was you, but—" She shrugs. "It was someone else. A girl. She says her name is Pidge."

" _Pidge_?" Keith says. "No way that's her name."

"It's not a normal human name?" Krolia asks.

"It's not a human name at all," Keith says. He pauses, then says, "I guess it might be a last name. Or a nickname? I don't know."

"Well," Krolia says. "Whatever her real name is, she must be local if she's hanging out here. And she wasn't afraid when she saw me."

"Really?"

"Well, at least she wasn't scared enough to run away screaming," Krolia admits. "I think she might have been a little nervous." She turns sideways, to look at her son's skeptical expression. "I told her that if she could find me again, we'd talk."

"Why would you do that?" Keith asks. "Mom, you know what would happen if people found out you aren't…"  
  
"Human?" She nods. She _does_ know—she's spent most of Keith's life all on her own, not daring to talk to anyone but him. If Earth finds out there's intelligent life elsewhere in the universe, it won't be long until they start trying to reach out to it. The last thing Krolia wants is to call the Empire's attention to Earth, where her son is. "Trust me, Keith, I'm perfectly well aware."

"Then why would you do this?" Keith asks. "Mom…"

This time, Krolia turns her whole body to face him. "Because you don't have _any_ friends your own age."

Keith's obviously having trouble meeting her gaze. "I have Shiro…"

"And I'm grateful that he's taken you under his wing while you're at the Garrison," Krolia says. "But you need people your own age, and… you've never had that."

"I don't _need_ anyone, Mom." He looks at her, and for a second she can see a hint of vulnerability on his face, behind the careful mask he always wears. Krolia knows he must be lonely, and she knows there's no weakness in that.

"Keith—"

"Mom, I _don't_ need anyone, I have you."

Krolia stops, takes a deep breath, and just processes that. She loves her son—she _loves_ Keith, more than she ever would have thought possible before she crash landed on Earth. But she's not human, and sometimes—often—she wonders if she's equipped to raise him. She wonders if she's missing things that she doesn't even _know_ that she's missing. She can teach Keith to survive, to fight, even to fly, on the galra shuttle she's hidden deep in the desert—and she _has_ done all these things, she's been teaching him since he was old enough to walk.

But she can't teach him how to be human, and she's starting to realize that he desperately needs friends. Pidge hadn't been planned, and if Krolia could have avoided being seen by her, she would have. But it's too late now, she can't be un-seen, and she's going to take Pidge as a gift. She'll be happy to answer whatever questions a thirteen year human girl could think to ask her. She can't possibly have that many of them, and as far as Krolia's concerned it's a fair trade to finally get Keith a friend.

"You need a friend," she says briskly. "You're going to get Pidge."

-//-

Keith sneaks out of the Garrison once a week, on Fridays, when the officers are a little more likely to turn a blind eye to cadets being where they're not supposed to be. He's almost positive that he could slip out without anyone noticing him pretty much any night that he wanted to, but he doesn't mind having that extra leeway he gets on Friday nights.

He worries about her, all by herself with no one to talk to. It's just the two of them, it always has been, ever since Keith's dad died when he was less than a year old. Keith had grown up in the desert, learning to fight and fly at the same time as he learned to read and write. He'd started going to public school when he was ten, and his mom realized he knew more about her people, several galaxies away, than about the human culture right here on the same _planet_. She'd decided it was time for him to go to school, and so Keith had gone.

And now, apparently she's decided she needs to assign him a friend. Pidge. What kind of a name is Pidge?

Keith boosts himself through an open window in the Garrison's dorm building, and pauses on the other side, long enough to listen and make sure that no one's close by. There's no one, so he starts creeping toward his room.

What kind of _person_ is Pidge? Keith has never really had friends. He's never really missed having them either, because he has too many secrets that he'd have to hide from anyone that ever gets close to him. Having Shiro around and taking an interest in him is proof enough of that.

 Keith has a roommate, but he sleeps like a log and there's no chance of him waking up. Keith gets into bed without bothering to change out of his clothes. Just pulls off his shoes and tucks himself under the blankets.

It's so like his mom to decide she can just pair him up with some random girl and _decide_ they're going to be friends. It can't possibly be that easy, although Keith already knows he's going to show up and give it a try anyway. It's his mom making an effort to help him, so even though Keith already knows that Pidge is going to show up and have _no_ interest in making friends with him, he's going to show up to meet her anyway. And then it'll blow over and he'll never see Pidge again.

By the time he falls asleep, Keith has already stopped thinking about Pidge and his mom's well meaning but doomed attempts at friendship-matchmaking. He sleeps soundly, and does not think of Pidge again for the rest of the night, or for a while after.

**Author's Note:**

> So I kind of wanted to write something with Pidge, and then I thought 'you know who I'd really like to write her interacting with? Krolia.' And so here we are! Hopefully it's something you guys want to read because I am really excited to write more and see where it goes. :)


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